Free Republic

The season opens more than a month later than usual with new gear restrictionsNew Year’s Eve marked more than just the start of 2023 for fishermen on the central coast. It was also the start of the commercial Dungeness crab season. The fishery traditionally opened around November 15, but the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has delayed the season in recent years in an effort to reduce the number of whale entanglements. CDFW followed the delay this year with a 50% gear reduction, meaning fishermen must keep half their allotted traps on board. Vertical fishing lines connect crab...

This is the time of year Californians look forward to if fans of decadent crab meat. The start of the Dungeness season could be in jeopardy, however, as this California Department of Fish and Wildlife report suggests: The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued a health advisory warning individuals to avoid eating rock and Dungeness crab due to the detection of high levels of domoic acid. The advisory was followed by a recommendation from the Office of Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) to the California Fish and Game Commission and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) to delay...

Not all Thanksgiving tables will go without crab.It’s an unbearable sight for Dungeness crab lovers: Hundreds of crab pots sitting idle on the docks of San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf. A beef over price means commercial crab fishermen wouldn’t be hauling in any of the delectable crustaceans in time for Thanksgiving. But that doesn’t necessarily mean every Thanksgiving table will go without. The strike by commercial fishermen has given recreational crabbers free reign on the ocean’s crab population. Although state regulations forbid anglers from catching Dungeness crabs in the San Francisco and San Pablo Bays, it doesn’t prevent them from trying...